Work of Art
by CelesteMacFarlane
Summary: Reyna was always Leo's favorite thing to draw. Even when she didn't know it. Oneshot.


Reyna didn't want to sit at this feast any longer. She didn't exactly know why, but she had an awful feeling in her chest that was expanding by the second. She was so nervous, she was practically shaking. Right now, the last person Reyna wanted to be sitting next to was Leo Valdez, who had fired on Camp Jupiter many moons ago. He made her nervous, especially given the way he was staring at her.

Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood had made peace a few days earlier, just before the two camps almost went head-to-head with each other. Although everything was alright now – Gaea and the giants had been defeated, the Doors of Death had been closed – Reyna still had a bad feeling and nothing could quite stop that feeling.

Once everything had been explained, Reyna told her fellow demigods to stop and that the Greeks hadn't done anything wrong, that it was all a misunderstanding. Octavian of course made a scene and caused a big hissy fit. "Reyna, the Greeks are our enemies! You don't actually _trust_ them, do you?" Octavian had asked her in the earshot. He had talked to her as though she were a child, which disgusted her.

"Octavian, the Greeks mean no harm and have never meant any harm. I truly believe that." Reyna had replied.

Octavian scoffed, crossing his skinny little arms over his chest. "You didn't exactly answer my question, _praetor_. Do you trust them?"

And since that day, Reyna hadn't answered his question.

Reyna was still asking herself if she trusted the Greeks. She did, but at the same time she didn't. It was kind of hard to explain. In her head, she thought it made perfect sense, but when she said it out loud, it didn't exactly seem like so. The Greeks and the Romans could relate, however. They were on the same side, even if they didn't know it.

A burst of laughter rumbled through the seven demigods of the Great Prophecy. Here in the crowded Dining Pavilion, there was hardly any room for many of the Romans, but they didn't seem to mind. Many sat on the ground, blankets spread out. A few Greeks and Romans sat next to each other, but not many. Reyna could feel the hesitation in the air, like each of the campers was holding their breath, waiting for any signs of betrayal. Even though the camps may have made peace, many of the campers didn't appear to trust one another. Well, Camp Half-Blood was a little more at ease with the Romans. The Romans were whispering, pointing and glaring at many of the campers. Reyna noticed a girl from a table a few feet away from the table she was sitting at – Table 12 – was cleaning a knife and glaring at one of the Romans. She was mumbling to herself, only gods knew what.

Each of the cabins at Camp Half-Blood had their own table, so the Ares cabin sat at the Ares table, the Vulcan table sat at… sorry, Hephaestus. Reyna was more adapted to saying the Roman names more than the Greeks, the same way she was accustomed to breathing. It came naturally.

Another chorus of laughter at table 12, which Reyna wasn't a part of. Oddly enough, Reyna felt a pang of jealously looking at the seven. Here they were, Roman and Greek and they could get along just fine. No fighting, threatening or anything. Just laughing, friends at ease with one another. Maybe Reyna felt jealous because that's what she wanted Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood to be like. Or maybe she just wanted to be a part of it.

Reyna looked around the Dining Pavilion, not feeling as hungry as she was moments earlier. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Octavian smirking to himself, shaking his head. Gods, did Reyna hate him. She would never say it out loud, though. Even if he was power-hungry and a manipulator, he was still a person and whether Reyna liked a person or not, she still tried to treat that person as an equal. This unfortunately applied to Octavian.

And then there was Chiron, the trainer at Camp Half-Blood. He was sort of the Greek version of Lupa, one might say. But so far, from what Reyna had seen of Chiron, she saw that the two of them were two very different people with different ways of training their demigods. He didn't seem too happy with the fact that some of his campers weren't sitting at their assigned tables and that many of the Romans were sitting amongst them too, but he let it slide.

Reyna abruptly stood up and walked out of the pavilion. Another second there and she wouldn't have been able to take it. Reyna took a few steps, realizing that she didn't know where she was going. It took her another few steps to realize that she didn't care and all she needed to do was to get away from everyone for a while.

Reyna wandered through the woods, not really sure where she was going, but not really caring. She walked a few feet into the woods before sitting down on a rock and putting her head in her hands. Now more than ever, Reyna felt alone. She was still leading an entire camp all by herself. It was like she had the burden of holding the sky all by herself and slowly, its weight was crushing her. Too much weight…

"Hey, you okay?" asked a familiar voice that startled the daughter of Bellona. When she looked up, she was Leo Valdez standing before her awkwardly, his hands shoved in his bulging pockets. Reyna blinked, not really sure what to say. "You're that daughter of baloney, right?"

"Bellona," Reyna corrected, "and thank you for asking."

Leo smiled awkwardly, shuffling his feet. "Mind if I… sit with you or–"

"No, that's alright. I just needed a minute… to think." Reyna got to her feet,

Leo nodded sympathetically. Reyna got the feeling he knew what she was talking about. Reyna couldn't help but stare at Leo for what was probably the first time; a good luck at him. Whenever Reyna looked at him or stared, she wasn't really looking-looking at him. More like pieces of him, his nose, his hair, and his eyes, whatever, but now she saw all of him at once. His curly black hair, his pointed ears, and those dark brown eyes of his. He was still smiling, but it seemed forced to Reyna. His smile was mischievous, but cute, in a way.

"How would you like me to show you around?" he asked. "I mean, I've seen you the past few days and you don't seem to know the way really much. Well, yeah, of course you don't because you're new to all of this"–Leo gestured around–"Just like if I was wandering around Camp Jupiter I'd be–" Leo stopped himself once he saw that he was babbling. He laughed in embarrassment. Even Reyna cracked a smile.

"I'd like that." Reyna said, still smiling. Just a little bit.

So Leo showed Reyna around – the stables, the Big House, the climbing wall that had lava pouring down, which kind of reminded Reyna of Camp Jupiter.

Leo finally showed Reyna the cabins. While they didn't actually go inside, Reyna got a good look of the outside. One was a marble building with heavy columns and two big bronze doors. It looked like a lightning bolt was shooting across the doors. Zeus' Cabin, obviously.

Another one appeared to be made out of solid gold – Apollo. One painted horrendously with the color red and barbed wires on the roof. Ares.

They finally stopped in front of a cabin that looked like a small factory with its small smokestacks and brick walls and gears. It stood out like a sore thumb, the cabin. Then again, many of the cabins did.

"And this sweet place is the Hephaestus cabin," Leo said, grinning from ear-to-ear. "Pretty cool, huh?"

It was hard for Reyna not to smile. Leo was just so enthusiastic. Gods, when was the last time she smiled? It must have been a long time, because Reyna could hardly remember.

"I like it. Bet it's even better on the inside," Reyna offered. Leo took the hint. He led Reyna inside the cabin, which was even more impressive on the outside. Folded steel bunks, interlocking gears and glowing gems. There was a fire pole and round staircases leading to what would most likely be a basement. The whole place was blinking with LED lights. Every single tool you could possibly imagine was in the cabin. And there were so many machine parts…

Once Reyna recollected herself, she realized that her jaw had dropped open in astonishment. "Really cool?" Leo asked her. It took Reyna a few moments to answer. Cool didn't even begin to describe the cabin.

"It's… amazing!" Reyna cried. "How did…" Reyna didn't finish her sentence. She was too astounded.

Reyna started wandering around the cabin, only looking and not touching. The Hephaestus cabin was probably one of the most amazing things she had ever seen in her life…

Reyna saw a stack of papers on one of the bunks. She walked over to it, picking up one of them only to be shocked to see the face of a girl on there. It was the most beautiful drawing she had ever seen in her life. Dark piercing eyes, her hair sketched into a braid. It looked a bit like…

"Leo, did you draw this?" Reyna inquired. Leo was next to her in a heartbeat and he paled, snatching the paper out of Reyna's hand. He quickly covered all the other papers on the bunk, swallowing hard and looking a bit uncomfortable.

"It's nothing, Reyna. Just something I drew. Didn't come out right."

Reyna scowled, not believing Leo for a moment. She grabbed the paper from Leo's grasp and evaded capture, inspecting the drawing from a safe distance. It was definitely Reyna. The daughter of Bellona couldn't believe that Leo had drawn her. It made her wonder if he had any more drawings of her that she didn't know about.

Reyna hurried over to the first bunk again, stealing a few papers. Leo was too pale to notice. He wasn't even moving. His eyes just followed Reyna, his complexion getting paler and paler as each minute grew.

Reyna looked at all the drawings and saw that it was indeed her. All of them. Each and every one. Reyna wasn't trying to think vainly, but they were so beautiful. Each sketched perfectly to the perfection it was.

"You like… drawing me?" Reyna whispered. Leo avoided Reyna's gaze. He didn't answer her question for a while. Then, in a quiet voice, he said simply, "You're a work of art, Reyna. A walking masterpiece."

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**A/N: Hope you liked. Review, please? Thank you! :)**


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